On Sunday, April 19, we will hold a special pairs event at Schenck Forest for orienteers at the ‘advanced’ or ‘expert’ level (i,e., able to complete an orange course on your own). You and your partner can start together any time between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM, but be sure to be done by 2:30 when control pickup will begin. Note that Schenck Forest does not allow dogs, even if leashed.

Orienteering is typically a solitary sport. Relay events are ostensibly team events; however, they still involve an individual making and executing navigation decisions on their own. Similarly, even when a group of people orienteer together, it’s rare for one person to explicitly take directions from another. As a result of the sport’s focus on individual navigation, orienteers tend to have little practice with communicating spatial information in real time. This event will exercise these skills, forcing competitors to communicate navigational information with each other. Here are the basic rules:

1. You must compete in a team of two. The team member in the field who punches controls will be called ‘the runner’. The other team member instructs the runner where to go and is called ‘the instructor’. (We will allow instructors who are not advanced orienteers to participate; however, all runners must be advanced orienteers.) Although you will be competing in pairs, each team member must register separately. If you do not have a partner, please go ahead and register! Indicate that you’re a solo in your registration, and you will be paired with another solo on or before meet day.

2. There are four loops to the course that must be done in order. The first loop is 1km, the second 2km, the third 3km, and the fourth 4km. For pairs who prefer to not do point-to-point courses, there will be an ‘Explorer’ option in which you and your partner can acquire any or all controls in any order you choose.

3. All maps will be at a scale of 1:7500. The runner’s map for loop one will not show any vegetation, control circles or leg lines. The runner’s map for loop two will only show contour lines and foot trails (N.B., no vehicle tracks or roads). The runner’s map for loop three will only show contour lines. The runner will not have a map for loop four. (The runner for the Explorer course will not have a map.) The runner may carry a compass.

4. The instructor will have a map with all symbols and control descriptions for each loop that they instruct, but is not allowed to leave the clearing around the shelter. The instructor may use a compass.

5. The runner and the instructor can communicate in real time via cell phone or walkie talkie (not provided). Only voice and/or text is allowed (e.g., no GPS tracking, LiveLox, etc.)

6. Teams may decide to stop any time after the second loop. Stopping earlier will result in an ‘mp’.

7. The runner and the instructor may switch roles at the end of any loop, but they are not required to. Teams doing the Explorer course may switch roles at most once. Notes about how to execute the role switch will be provided at the start.

Please note that this is a brand new format for us, and questions are likely to arise that are not answered by these rules. Please send note for clarification to the event director (dw.orienteer@gmail.com). He will collate and edit these questions and, if necessary, send out an FAQ to all participants on Saturday morning.

Filed under: Latest News, Next Events by David Waller